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Made the casatiello last night. Had been planning on doing this one for awhile so I was surprised to see Abra pop up with it while I was thinking about. Great minds think alike. I used Salumi regular salami with a nice Oregon smoked gouda. I did my mixing by hand and all the salami and cheese seemed to clump in spots, mostly in the center. I just kept working it since I could feel where the lumps were and evened it out. I did one big loaf (no photo, sorry) in the cake pan like the photo in the book and it turned out beautiful. Everyone at my book club loved it. Big hit!

The age old debate. Are we really going over it yet again? I have a friend who thinks that a foodie is someone who has dined in the finest establishments and it all about stars and zagat whatnot. I say it's a person with a great love of any food that is an adventurous eater. We will never agree on this point. EVER. (And he acts like he's right. Hah!) When I talk to him I just use the words "foodie - my definition" or "foodie, your definition". One day he just may see that I'm right!

What I didn't get was Heather yelling at Virginia that she saw the recipe in one of his books. And the problem with that would have been what? I'm sitting there thinking that if any one of them had a lick of sense, they would have picked up all his books and cooked their way through them before even stepping into his kitchen. Wouldn't it be good to know a little about his food before going into this thing? And how can you not tell the difference between cilantro and basil? I knew Virginia was going to win that challenge when she started talking beans and grapefruit and basil. It just sounded like his kind of dish.

Thanks, Drewman. Good to know. I was thinking of ordering some to try. I know Fwed has had the same troubles with the entremet molds. Good info.

PCB Creations also sells a release spray with theirs. If I remember correctly, there were tips in their catalogue on how to use them. I'll try to remember to dig that up tonight.

The original from the class was very thin and there were several thin inner layers not just one of each mousse. It would look more like the entremets you see in PA&D.

I was really surprised at my mother's reaction to the seal segment. I expected her to be squeamish but she got quiet and then commented that she was "so very proud of him" for digging in and honoring those people and their culture.

I remember watching a friend in high school spread a 1/4 of an inch of miracle whip between two slices of soft white bread and thinking that was one of the nastiest things I had ever seen. Still makes me gag a little to think of it. Other than too much mayo on a sandwich, mushrooms, onions and bell peppers have always been my least favorite things that everyone else seems to enjoy. Coffee needs to be really good and have tons of cream and sugar for me to down it.

As always, travel safe. Hope you all get home soon. Hugs and prayers.

I wouldn't worry about spoilers here. We always tell. If I'm remembering correctly, France took the gold, Japan took silver and US bronze. I don't remember on best chocolate and sugar. France got best table/pastillage. The Mexican team got the best sportsmanship award. Hurrincane Katrina wiped out their practice facility at home and they found another one in Wyoming, I believe it was, and pressed on. It was good to see the Japanese team do so well. They had a rough time. A couple of days before the competition, one of their teammates got stung by a scorpion on his hand. He worked anyway. Their showpiece came crashing down. The French team manager, Stephane Glacier went over and hugged their manager when it happened. Fierce competition but they also had a geniune desire to see everyone do well. I thought Russia did very well for their first time out. So did anyone do classes? How were they? I could a couple. Will go through my notes and post more later. Day job callin' right now.

Pretty Lady grapes has one of the nicest labels I've come across out in our warehouse. Scroll down here for picture.

My father the fisherman, when he was alive, would only use it as fertilizer. Grows some beautiful roses! He used to refer to them as "chum dogs".

I enjoy the crunchwraps on occasion, but they have to have enough sour cream to be good. If they go shy on sour cream, it just doesn't do it for me. I didn't know it was started here in Portland. Funny thing is, back when I was in college almost 20 years ago, I had a friend that worked for taco bell in her younger years and when we went there to eat, she would order a double decker taco, long before it was ever put on a menu. She would ask for a taco supreme with a flour tortilla and just enough beans to hold it onto the taco shell. They would look at her like she was crazy and turn and ask a manager (every time) "can we do that?". She explained that it was something she came up with to keep her taco from falling apart as she ate it. Funny to look back now.

If you go to the Foodnetwork Challenge info page, it has Keegan Gerhard listed as the MC again instead of Leibfried. I didn't see him in the last challenge I watched. I'm glad. Leibfried messed with the competitions too much when he was doing the pastry stuff. Yelling at people in Hell's Kitchen is one thing. Bugging the hell out of someone who's trying to put together a delicate sugar shoppiece is another. It was a bad fit. I have noticed that we're seeing a whole lot more of Scott and Mary Ann on HK than we did last season.

I've heard people talk about a wait at 10am, I didn't really see much waiting until 11 am the morning we were there. You should be fine at 9.

I remember being out having a meal with my family when all of us kids were young in a restaurant run by a small family that spoke little english. My brother and sister were blowing straw wrappers at one another and one of the landed in the candle our the table. We were amazed that such a small piece of paper made such a big flame. The waitress quietly walked over from another table, put the candle on her tray, and silently with no reaction on her face, took it to the kitchen and returned to the table where she had been taking an order. She never said a word but every time we returned to the restaurant, she would bring my parents menus, take the candle and walk away.

I like it when Alma's caramel sauce has just enough habanero in it to give just a slight warming sensation to the mouth but not enough to be spicey or hot. It's a nice little sensual touch and would go well with many fruits.

It would be nice if they offered a non-flash option like most people do. I don't need a big production number, I just want to dump some chocolate in my basket and hit paypal and go.

Now I remember why I haven't ordered from Christopher Elbow yet. I go to the website and it does nothing, just sits there blank.

I'm still a fan of Norman's and Drew's but I'm now convinced that I need to check out Christopher Elbow. I was actually disappointed with the Vosages caramels. I didn't think it was a particularly good caramel to begin with and it didn't seem to be properly paired with the chocolate. The two didn't work together for me. And then to toss in odd flavors on top of that, it seemed like it was just for the sake of having odd ingredients and not because they fit well. I didn't even finish the box and I love caramel. Weird that we had two totally different experiences with them, Wendy. Although to be fair to them I believe the box I got a hold of may have been a little old.

Yes, Apizzascholls is worth the wait. I've never been a big fan of Stanich's but I know people who think their good.

Great company and great food! And thanks to the kitchen. I kept thinking about the dish they sent out. It was my third choice...did they read my mind? Was I really thinking that loud? When the server asked if I needed more time to make my decision, I told her I was just pondering how many plates I could fit in front of me. It was all wonderful. Thanks for the laughs and thanks again to the kitchen for giving us the royal treatment!

Another note from an old stamper...do not immerse your stamps in water. You'll lose the foam cushion that holds the rubber onto the wood or acrylic block. It will start to slide. If this happens, you can nuke it in the microwave to peel it all apart and buy a new sheet of the grey foam cushion from a rubber stamp store and replace it.

If you do a search on portlandfood.org there is more recent chatter but it's scattered in a number of topics and difficult to give links to all of them.